


Welcome to The Rivalry

by 2tiedships2



Category: One Direction (Band)
Genre: Alpha Harry, Alpha Liam, Alpha/Beta/Omega Dynamics, Alternate Universe, But also, College, Enemies to Lovers, Happy Ending, Humor, M/M, Mating Cycles/In Heat, Omega Louis, Rivalry, Robbery, Scenting, Strangers to Lovers, True Stories, Twitter
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-10-18
Updated: 2020-10-18
Packaged: 2021-03-08 19:28:51
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 19,671
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27022033
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/2tiedships2/pseuds/2tiedships2
Summary: “Welcome home!” Niall yelled, clapping his hands in excitement. “Isn’t it great?”Louis looked between Niall and the house, unsure how to respond.“I don’t understand,” Louis finally managed to say. “Aren’t we a little old to be living so close to campus?”Niall scoffed. “You’re only twenty-four for fuck’s sake. There is still plenty of partying left for us to do. What better place than one street over from where a car was set on fire after the Michigan game last year?”“Is there proof of that? Did the car have Michigan plates or something? Is there a photo I can send in a DM to Wolfie?”As if on cue, a Twitter notification popped up on Louis’ Apple watch. He had tweeted again.Or a reverse You’ve Got Mail au inspired by the Ohio State/Michigan rivalry. Featuring duplex neighbors, (kind of) enemies to lovers, and an anonymous Twitter feud between omega Louis and alpha Harry.
Relationships: Harry Styles/Louis Tomlinson
Comments: 54
Kudos: 565





	Welcome to The Rivalry

**Author's Note:**

> As always a massive thank you to Lynda for helping me with everything writing, beta-ing and beyond.
> 
> Disclaimer: This is a work of fiction. I have no association with the band One Direction and those surrounding them, please don't share this work with anyone in the band.
> 
> Thank you for reading and I hope you enjoy!

“Are you sure this is the right street, Niall?” 

“Yep,” Niall stated as he pulled Louis to a stop and directed his attention to a house that, for some reason, had two front doors. 

“Welcome home!” Niall yelled, clapping his hands in excitement. “Isn’t it great?”

Louis looked between Niall and the house, unsure how to respond. His best friend was supposed to have found them an apartment away from their university campus. So why were they standing in front of a house, with two front doors, that was a measly ten minute walk from the school grounds?

“I don’t understand,” Louis finally managed to say. “Aren’t we a little old to be living so close to campus? What happened to getting an apartment away from the loud weekend parties so I can work on my thesis in peace?”

Niall scoffed. “That’s what libraries are for. And you’re only twenty-four for fuck’s sake. There is still plenty of partying left for us to do. What better place than one street over from where a car was set on fire after the Michigan game last year?”

Louis looked back at his friend in curiosity. “Is there proof of that? Did the car have Michigan plates or something? Is there a photo I can send in a DM to Wolfie?”

“Oh, my god,” Niall responded with a roll of his eyes. “I’m going to ban you from Twitter if you don’t stop this pointless feud with that guy.”

As if on cue, a Twitter notification popped up on Louis’ Apple watch. _He_ had tweeted again. 

**_@wolfieblue: My sister gave me a pencil with a little Michigan football helmet as the eraser. Perfect for the start of the school year! #GoWolverines #GoBlue_ **

Louis promptly pulled his phone out of his pocket and opened up Twitter. 

**_@TBDOITL: Replying to @wolfieblue: Maybe you can use it to erase your team out of history. #GoBucks_ **

“That’s a pretty lame response,” Niall noted from where he was invading Louis’ personal space. “And you do realize that literally no one knows what your username means, right? Just checking.”

Louis shot Niall a glare. “Everyone should know that the Ohio State marching band is The Best Damn Band In The Land. It’s just a fact. And it’s also a fact that I’m The Best Damn Omega In The Land. My username is showing support for our band while simultaneously pointing out that I’m a kind, generous and single omega.”

Niall let out a soft snort before responding. “Good luck finding an alpha who can decode that.”

Louis decided to ignore the comment as he pocketed his phone and headed towards the house that he absolutely did not agree on renting. 

“Which door do I use to get in?” Louis inquired. “Should I assume this is a duplex? Or are we renting the entire house and one door is to enter and the other to exit?”

“Your assumption of living in half the house is correct,” Niall advised as he pulled out his keys. “We’re the apartment on the left. I haven’t met our neighbors yet but Liam said they’re cool. Hopefully not too cool though because then it will be sad to move after only four months.”

Louis stopped in his tracks. Did Niall say four months? Were they moving all of their shit just to be here for four months?

“Did I forget to mention that?” Niall inquired innocently as he unlocked the door. “My bad.”

“Explain,” Louis commanded, as he moved between his friend and the front door. He needed to know what Niall had gotten them into before he walked into the house. Or apartment. Or whatever it was referred to when you only got to live in half of a house. 

“First of all,” Niall stated. “The menacing look you’re trying to pull isn’t working so you might as well relax your face. Second of all it’s just a happy coincidence how things worked out. Liam’s future roommates can’t move in until January and the apartment that I managed to get us doesn’t open until the first of the year. So instead of living on the street I figured we could help Liam out with rent for a little bit.”

Niall gave a knowing smirk and Louis wasn’t sure if he should unfriend him now or later. 

“What apartment?” Louis asked, unable to contain his curiosity.

“Oh, you know,” Niall said as he shoved Louis out of the way. “The place on High Street that you fell in love with for whatever strange reason. You’re welcome.”

Louis decided he would unfriend Niall at a later time as he blindly followed him into their temporary living quarters. He’d at least wait until their lease was signed for the beautiful apartment Louis had found.

“You could have led with that, you know,” Louis said, attempting to sound annoyed but failing miserably. “Instead of making me think we would be living in this place for an entire year.”

Niall merely shrugged. “This way was more fun.”

Louis scowled. Niall was such a little shit sometimes. 

“You’re here!” Louis heard Liam yell before the man was visible. “Come in, I’ll give you the tour, Lou!”

“He seems to take great enjoyment in giving The Tour,” Niall mumbled from beside Louis. “Move quickly or you’ll get stuck listening to his drama about retiling the kitchen floor all by himself. He’s clearly very proud of his accomplishment.”

Louis gave a single nod. “Noted.”

They found Liam in the kitchen, rolling fresh red paint on the walls.

“Red?” Niall inquired. “Where did that idea come from?”

“Actually, I think it’s more of a scarlet color,” Louis noted. “You know, to match our school colors of scarlett and grey.”

Niall rolled his eyes. “If you weren’t in that twitter feud thingy with the blue guy you would have agreed that the paint is red.”

“Not true,” Louis grumbled as he pulled out his phone to snap a picture of a section of the kitchen that was completed. He promptly pulled up twitter to upload the photo in support of team spirit.

**_@TBDOITL: Scarlett is the color of Success. Passion. Pride. #GoBucks_ **

He was about to pocket his phone when a notification from the Michigan poopyhead came through.

**_@wolfieblue: Replying to @TBDOITL: Scarlet (most commonly known as red) is the color of kitchen walls. #GoBlue_ **

“What an idiot,” Louis mumbled to himself.

“Who is?” Niall inquired. “Or are you talking about yourself?”

Louis shot Niall another glare before handing his phone over to his friend. 

“He has a point,” Niall stated, handing the device back. “Most people do refer to it as red.”

“That’s not the point, Neil.”

“What are you guys talking about?” Liam asked as he set the paint roller to the side to join the pair.

“Louis still has that thing going on with the Michigan fan,” Niall explained. “It seems they’ve escalated their shenanigans to the point of stalking each other.”

“I don’t…”

“You totally do,” Niall said, completely cutting Louis off. 

“Have you considered the fact that the rivalry between Ohio State and Michigan is becoming a bit pointless?” Liam asked. “I mean, we beat them 56 to 27 last season. It’s not much of a rivalry when the game is one sided.”

Louis could only stare in shock, eventually managing to redirect his gaze to Niall, who was wide-eyed and fishmouthing as if unsure what to say to Liam’s ludicrous statement. 

“Right,” Liam said with a decisive nod. “We’ll just forget I said that.”

“Who are you?” Louis asked when he was finally able to form words. “Are you sure you belong at this school? And there’s no way I can unhear that.”

“Me neither,” Niall agreed, looking around the kitchen. “What happened to Liam? Where’s Liam? I want my friend back.”

“Anyway,” Liam said, turning to leave the room. “Follow me. I’ll give you a tour and show you which room will be yours, Lou.”

Niall sidled up to Louis as Liam led them to a set of stairs. “We’re going to defile Liam’s room with a shit ton of Michigan gear, right? Maybe sneak in to paint his walls blue and yellow?”

Louis nodded. “It will be torture having to touch anything Michigan related but you better believe it. We’re shopping for things tonight.”

Niall let out a soft giggle as Liam led the way through the house, pointing out the shared bathroom and finally the small bedroom assigned to Louis. 

Once The Tour was complete Liam handed over Louis’ key with strict instructions not to lose it. 

“I make no promises,” Louis advised. “But I’ll do my best.”

Liam rolled his eyes as they headed back to the kitchen where Liam went back to work with painting. 

“So moving in tomorrow about noon then?” Niall confirmed. 

“Yep,” Liam stated, not bothering to turn around. “There’s the small gravel lot in the back of the house. Just pick a spot to park and we’ll get you moved in in no time.”

Since it sounded like Liam was more than willing to help with carrying in their belongings, Louis needed a plan to get into his friend’s room to quickly redecorate. Liam was going to pay for that comment about their team’s rival. 

\----

“Remember when Liam explicitly told you not to lose the house key, Louis?” Niall groaned. “Because it was just yesterday.”

“I didn’t say I lost it,” Louis objected. “Did I say I lost it? No. No I did not. It just happens to be safely tucked away on the floor of my new bedroom.”

Niall shook his head. “Since we’re locked out and you were in charge of the keys, it’s currently considered lost.”

“Says the person who actually _did_ lose their key,” Louis pointed out with a raised eyebrow.

“It’s not lost,” Niall huffed. “It’s hiding in a safe place in one of the boxes that I packed last night.”

“Since we’re locked out and you were in charge of the keys, it’s currently considered lost,” Louis parroted. 

“Shut up,” Niall instructed, sending Louis a glare. “Now text Liam and tell him to come unlock the door so we can get this over with. The sooner we get moved in, the sooner I can take a nap.”

The problem was that Louis had already sent several texts to Liam once Louis realized both he and Niall didn’t have their key. It was unusual for Liam to not respond immediately but at this point it had been fifteen minutes and five unanswered texts. Louis was going to have to resort to actually calling. Not his ideal form of communication, but desperate times called for desperate measures and all that. 

As Louis placed the call he climbed out of the car and headed towards the window that looked into the kitchen, tripping over the loose gravel they were parked on and nearly face planting onto the ground on the way.

“Did you even try the back door?” Niall inquired, following Louis’ lead towards the house. He paused for a moment before continuing. “Forget I said that. It’s Liam. It’s definitely locked.”

“We could climb through the window,” Louis suggested as he tried calling Liam a second time. 

He watched as Niall inspected the open window, only a cheap screen in place that could probably be dislodged by a strong gust of wind. Louis glanced over to Niall who had a thoughtful expression on his face.

“Do you think Liam realizes how cheap that screen is?” Niall asked. “Honestly, what’s the point of locking the door, which is in fact locked, when it looks like we could just give the screen a push and climb into the house.”

“If we were taller,” Louis noted. “Did you happen to pack a ladder?”

Niall rolled his eyes. “No. Besides, it’s not that high. I’ll give you a boost and you use that upper body strength that you no longer have to climb in.”

Louis gave Niall a blank look. “Did you even hear what you just said? First of all, you won’t even let me leap frog over you because you claim your knees are in such bad shape. As such, no way am I trusting you to give me a boost. Second of all, I have plenty of upper body strength, thank you very much. Just find something for me to climb on and we’re good to go.”

“We’d be even better if Liam would answer his damn phone,” Niall grumbled. “His car is here, we agreed upon the hour to move in, so where is Mr. Reliable?”

Louis stood on his tiptoes and gave the window screen a single poke. It promptly dislodged, falling into the house and clattering onto the kitchen floor. 

“Good thing Liam keeps a deadbolt on the door,” Niall wheezed as he broke into a fit of laughter. “It makes me feel quite confident in the security of the house.”

“Excuse me,” a voice sounded from behind them. “Can I help you?”

Louis whipped around to find a stranger looking at them like they were crazy. Which was a fair assessment Louis supposed. Breaking and entering a house that they were paying rent for wasn’t technically breaking and entering. Ish. But still, it would certainly look that way to this man standing before him. 

“Perfect,” Niall chirped. “Can you give Louis here a boost so he can climb into the window? We’re locked out.”

“Do you live here?” The man asked skeptically, looking between the pair. “I’ve never seen you around before.”

“We’re just moving in,” Niall informed, pointing towards the SUV they had rented for the day in order to fit all of their stuff in with as few trips as possible.

“If you’re going to be living here why don’t you have a key?” the man questioned. 

“That’s an excellent question,” Niall stated. “See, Louis here left his new key in the house and my key is hiding in one of the boxes in the car. Since our friend is supposed to be inside, we didn’t really consider the fact that we would be stuck in this predicament.”

Louis nodded in agreement. Hopefully Niall was saying something that deserved agreeing to because Louis was too distracted by the person standing in front of him to even hear what his friend was saying. 

Was this their neighbor then? Was the alpha of his dreams going to be living on the other side of their apartment walls? Because this man was totally his dream alpha. Tall, but not too tall, dark curly hair, green eyes, and it was hard to be certain because of the blue hoodie he was wearing, but Louis knew he was fit. Not that looks were everything of course, but it was a good start. 

“Right, Lou?”

Louis snapped his attention back to Niall who seemed to be waiting for a response to… something. 

“Um…” Louis eloquently drawled out, giving the perfect first impression of his speaking skills to the dreamy alpha. 

“Oh, my God,” Niall mumbled before reaching out to shake hands with the stranger. “Anyway, I’m Niall.” He pointed in Louis’ direction as he continued. “And that’s Louis.”

“Pleasure to meet you,” the man said, taking Louis’ hand in turn and giving it a soft squeeze before releasing his hold. “I’m Harry. It looks like we’re going to be house neighbors.”

“Hi,” Louis said softly as he watched Harry’s dimples become even more prominent. Louis was mesmerized and, as such, it seemed he had lost all ability to communicate in full sentences. 

“Let’s go, Lou,” Niall announced as he pocketed his phone. “We’re climbing through the window. Liam still isn’t answering.”

“Window it is,” Louis agreed, having no idea if Niall had come up with an actual plan to reach the ledge. 

Niall reached out his hand. “Car keys, please. I’ll pull up so we can use the car as a ladder.”

“Or, um, I might have a ladder,” Harry suggested. “If you want help.”

“What if we’re breaking and entering?” Louis inquired, internally congratulating himself on formulating a sentence for the alpha. “Do you really want to be a part of this?”

Harry shrugged. He had a cute shrug. 

“Sure he does,” Niall answered instead. “Although can we save time and you just give Louis here a boost so he can climb in using his impeccable upper body strength?”

Louis shot Niall a Look and his friend merely shrugged. Niall’s shrug wasn’t cute. 

Harry gave a single nod and followed Louis and Niall to stand just below the open window. 

“Okay,” Harry instructed. “I’ll cup my hands, you use them as a step ladder and I’ll assist with giving you a push up so you can get a firm grip to climb through the window. Good?”

“Perfect,” Niall agreed, as if he were the one about to trust this stranger in giving him a boost.

“Sounds good,” Louis said as he toed off his shoes.

“Why are you taking your shoes off?” Niall asked. 

“Because I’m a nice person and am thinking about Harry’s well being. Soles of shoes can hurt when you’re holding someone’s entire body weight.”

“I never would have thought of that,” Harry commented. “Thanks.”

Louis flashed Harry a smile as the alpha crouched down and waited for Louis to get his bearings. He had this. 

With a little assist from Harry, Louis was able to catch onto the windows ledge. Niall was right though. It was obvious Louis’ upper body strength needed work. There was no way he was going to be able to pull himself through the window.

“I’m going to give you a push up,” Harry advised, his voice sounding slightly strained. “Hold on and get ready to climb in.”

“Go for it!” Louis yelled, despite not quite being ready. How much of a push was Harry talking about? Enough to get a better grip? Or maybe…

It was obvious that Harry had impeccable upper body strength. And arm strength. And strong hands. Louis was in no way prepared for Harry’s assist and Louis stumbled into the window and onto the kitchen floor. Holy shit. 

\----

“What the fuck, Louis?”

Louis looked up from where he was sprawled on the kitchen floor to find Liam standing in the doorway. Louis took a few moments to take stock in his body before answering. He was certain to have a few bruises but at least he was alive after Harry catapulted him through the window. 

“How nice of you to join us,” Louis eventually groaned. “I’m just going to lie here for a bit so will you unlock the door for Niall, please.”

There was a loud knock on the door and Liam kept his eyes on Louis as he headed across the room to let Niall in. And Harry apparently, who said a quick hi on his way to where Louis was still laying on the floor. 

“Shit, Louis. Shit, shit shit,” Harry cursed as he knelt down and took Louis’ hand. “I’m so sorry, I guess you’re lighter than I thought.”

“It’s okay,” Louis assured. Although to be honest he was a bit embarrassed at this point. He was usually good at recovering after a fall. He was like a cat who always landed on his feet. Or not, as it turned out.

Louis moved to sit up but the moment he went to push up with his left hand he released an embarrassing yelp and dropped back on the floor. How the fuck had he hurt his wrist in this process? He hadn’t even noticed any pain until now. 

“What’s wrong, Lou?” Niall asked from where he was now hovering above Louis.

“Liam broke me.”

“I what?” Liam asked as he came into view above Louis as well. “How do you figure that?”

Louis let out a giggle as he watched Niall smack Liam on the back of his head. “We agreed on noon to move in. We texted and called a million times and you were obviously ignoring us. We had to improvise to get into the house.”

A sheepish look overtook Liam’s face. “I fell asleep and my phone was in the other room, I guess.”

“You guess?” Louis inquired. Because seriously?

“Did you really have to break the screen though?” Liam asked. “You couldn’t have waited just a little bit longer?”

Louis missed Niall’s response as his eyes snapped to Harry’s when he felt the man run his index finger along Louis’ jaw. It felt like an intimate gesture and, combined with the soft look in Harry’s eyes, Louis could only assume his traitorous pheromones reacted to the touch. He watched as Harry’s nostrils flared and he leaned farther into Louis’ personal space. Harry quickly corrected himself but Louis definitely wouldn’t forget the reaction.

“Let’s get you up,” Harry instructed as he slid his hand underneath Louis’ back to help him sit. “I’ll take a look at that wrist.” 

“There’s a first aid kit in the bathroom,” Liam advised from where he was inspecting the window screen. He looked back with an apologetic expression. “Sorry for breaking you, Lou. On the upside, I’ll start moving in all of your stuff while Harry does his thing.”

“How generous of you,” Louis replied as he climbed off of the kitchen floor before Harry had a chance to help him all the way up. There was no need for him to think Louis needed to be coddled just because he had a broken wrist.

\----

“It’s just a small sprain,” Harry observed from where he was kneeling in front of the toilet that Louis was sitting on. “It shouldn’t take too long to heal.”

“Are you a doctor or something?” Louis asked, wincing as Harry secured the bandaging around his wrist and hand. 

Harry smiled. “Doctor in training. I’m studying to be a pediatrician.”

Louis’ stomach fluttered at the idea of this kind alpha working with children. Obviously they had just met, but it seemed like he had the countenance needed to excel in the field. On the other hand, Harry was probably only in his third year of school. How was he qualified to diagnose Louis’ wrist?

“Have you studied a lot of sprained wrists?” Louis asked skeptically. “Don’t I need, like, an x-ray to know it’s just a sprain?”

Harry brushed his thumb over the top of the bandaging before looking up and saying, “I’ll help you keep an eye on it, if that’s okay. If it gets worse we can get it looked at. I’ll also find you a brace so you can keep it in place.”

Louis nodded dumbly as the scent of coffee and leather filled the small bathroom. He hadn’t even noticed Harry’s scent until now and it was officially the loveliest smell Louis had ever been in contact with. 

Louis watched as Harry’s face dropped, a deep frown line developing between his brows. “I’m really sorry, Louis. We both know this isn’t Liam’s fault.”

Louis furrowed his brows. He really hoped Harry wasn’t one of those people who always took the blame for things. How was Louis supposed to know he would be thrown through a window when Niall had suggested Harry give him enough of a boost so he could get a good grip on the window ledge?

“It’s not your fault, Harry,” Louis declared. “It wasn’t your idea on our method of how to get into the house.”

“But…”

“Besides,” Louis said, cutting Harry off. “It’s my left hand so I’m just fine doing daily tasks.”

“Well, if you need any help I'm happy to assist,” Harry offered. 

Louis nodded as a thought popped into his head. “Actually, now that you mention it...”

Harry’s face brightened and Louis temporarily lost his train of thought at the way the man’s green eyes seemed to twinkle. Louis was going to have to rethink his belief about storybook prince’s escaping the books and appearing in real life. Because that’s exactly what Harry seemed to be. 

“What can I help you with?” Harry prompted.

Louis blinked, coming back to the present. “You may have actually helped me and Niall out.” Louis smirked as he continued, “Since I now have a sprained wrist I’m going to claim being useless and won’t be able to help move stuff in. Or maybe I’ll just carry a pillow in or something. Whatever. Can you help me redecorate Liam’s room really quick?”

Harry opened his mouth to respond but no words came out. 

Louis giggled as he pushed Harry in the shoulder to allow room for him to stand up. “Let’s go, Harry. This is important and I need your help.” Louis headed toward the door, looking back when he realized Harry wasn’t following him. Louis placed his right hand on his waist and cocked his hip. “Are you coming?”

Harry nodded as he scrambled off of the floor and followed Louis down the stairs. 

“There’s a box in the front seat of the SUV with a big Ohio State decal on it.” Louis quickly explained. “I’ll pretend to get some ice for my wrist and you can go grab it. Don’t get sucked into helping to move things in, Harry. I’m an injured omega who needs your assistance.”

“Not to tell you what to do, or anything,” Harry suggested. “But don’t pretend to get ice. You need to get the swelling down.”

“Fucking finally,” Niall huffed from where his face was nearly hidden behind one of the biggest boxes they had packed. “Harry is helping us move in as penance for breaking your wrist, right?”

“No,” Louis corrected as he headed towards the freezer. “We have a more pressing matter to deal with.”

Niall set the box on top of the counter. “I don’t think...”

“Liam’s room,” Louis hissed as Harry scurried out of the house and towards the car.

“Oh,” Niall responded, nodding enthusiastically. “You’re right. But you need to move fast. I think Liam feels bad for not unlocking the door and is in a rush to do everything himself.”

Louis bit his lip in thought. “Take him to pack up the last load of our shit. It shouldn’t take too long but will give us enough time to really get the Michigan spirit up in his room.”

“Gross,” Niall mumbled. “But good idea.”

“What’s a good idea?” Liam asked from the doorway. “How’s the wrist, Lou?”

Louis shrugged. “It’s a sprain. Did you know Harry is studying to be a doctor?”

“Really?” Niall and Liam said in unison.

“It’s true,” Harry confirmed as he entered the house carrying two additional boxes along with the secret decorations for Liam’s room.

“Anyway,” Niall interrupted. “We’ll have a getting to know you party later. In the meantime I was hoping Liam could replace Louis in going to pack up the last of our belongings.” Niall turned to address Liam specifically. “It’s not much but will go a lot smoother with your help, Li. Doctor Styles can be all doctor-y to Louis’ broken arm while we finish up.”

“It’s only a small…” Harry started, thankfully noticing Niall’s glare before finishing the sentence.

Liam shrugged. “Sure, I don’t have any other plans. And I’m partially to blame for Louis’ injury so of course I’ll help.”

“We’ll assign blame later,” Louis stated, wincing as he placed the ice on his injured wrist. He really should have gotten ice on it sooner but oh well. “Can I borrow your bed, Liam? I want to lay down to nurse the rest of my injuries and my mattress isn’t here yet.”

“Sure,” Liam easily agreed, followed by a soft giggle from Niall.

“I’ll, um…” Harry began. “Is it okay that I get a few ice packs from my place and bring them over for you, Louis? Or do you just want to sleep?”

“Get the man some ice packs,” Niall agreed. “Liam’s room is actually the attic so just head on up to the third floor when you get back. Make it quick, Louis is in pain.”

“Thanks, Niall,” Louis deadpanned, shaking his head fondly before turning to go up to Liam’s room. He turned to find Harry watching him and Louis gave the alpha a wink before he was out of sight. 

\----

Just as Louis was about to lay back on Liam’s bed a notification from his twitter nemesis came through.

**_@wolfieblue: Never doubt I despise everything about OSU. I will, however, admit there may be one or two nice people that attend._ **

Louis paused at the words. What the fuck did that mean? Did the blue wolf know someone who went to OSU? Even worse, did the blue puppy attend Louis’ school? It obviously sounded like it but there had never been any mentions in previous tweets. Thankfully the university was the largest in Ohio though because Louis wasn’t sure what would happen if he ever met the Michigan fan. 

**_@TBDOITL: Replying to @wolfieblue: Never doubt I despise everything about the State Up North. Thankfully I don’t know anyone from there._ **

It was probably a pathetic reply but he was bruised and had a sprained wrist. Wolfie would get the point.

There was a knock on the open door and Louis looked over to find Harry with the prized box of decorations he and Niall had painstakingly purchased from an old friend who had played the same prank on someone.

“As promised, I brought you some ice packs,” Harry announced as he sat down on the bed. He handed one over and Louis exchanged the cooling pack from his wrist with one of Harry’s frozen ones. 

“Thanks, Harry,” Louis graciously said with a smile. 

“No problem. Can I see what’s in this important box now?”

Louis nodded enthusiastically. He hadn’t bothered to see what exactly had been included in their purchase so it would be a surprise to him as well.

Harry pried open the box and his face broke into a wide smile as he reached in and pulled a small Michigan flag out. Louis, on the other hand, blanched at even having to look at the item. 

“Is Liam a Michigan fan?” Harry asked, sounding way too enthusiastic in his questioning. Did he seriously believe Liam would be a Michigan fan? Harry was losing points at being Louis’ dream alpha the longer the smile remained on his face.

“I wouldn’t have agreed to be his roommate if he was,” Louis informed as he collapsed back onto the bed. “He insinuated that it was pointless for Michigan and OSU to be rivals considering how horribly Michigan has been playing. Last season’s loss was absolutely epic. It must be torture being a Michigan fan.”

Harry looked over with a furrowed brow. “So you’re decorating his room as, like, payback or something? For what he said?”

Louis lolled his head to the side to get a better view of his new favorite alpha. “It was either that or wash his mouth out with soap. And I think we can all agree he’s a little too old for that.”

Harry let out the cutest giggle and Louis sat back up, cringing at the sore muscles that were forming. 

“You okay?” Harry inquired, a slight frown forming on his lips. “Are you sore? Did you check for bruises?”

Louis rolled his eyes as he began digging through the box of blue and yellow items. “I’m fine, Harry. Will you help me do this?”

“Absolutely. Let’s liven this place up with some maize and blue.”

Louis looked over to Harry with wide eyes. “Maize? Blue and maize? You actually refer to the team colors as blue and _maize_?”

A light shade of pink was creeping up Harry’s face when he answered. “I mean, blue and yellow. I thought I’d just be official for this occasion. You know, how OSU is scarlett and grey but a lot of people just refer to it as red.” 

“Mhmm,” Louis mumbled suspiciously. “Just for the record, our kitchen walls are scarlett. Not red.”

“The color of success, passion and pride,” Harry noted with a thoughtful expression on his face.

“Exactly!” Louis yelled as he waved a tiny Michigan flag in the air. “Thank you! I’m glad you get it.”

“I love your team spirit, Louis,” Harry said with a crooked smile. “And Niall’s.”

Louis beamed as he pulled a large flag out of the box. He looked up at the ceiling and tried to figure out the best way to get it attached directly above Liam’s bed with the materials they had packed. 

“I see where you’re going with that,” Harry commented as he looked between the flag in Louis’ hand and the ceiling. “Give me three minutes and I’ll be back with something to hang it up with. I like Liam and don’t want to risk tearing paint off of the ceiling with the tape you brought.”

“How thoughtful of you,” Louis said with amusement lacing his tone. 

Harry shrugged. “He’s been a good neighbor. You think about what you want to do with the other decorations and I’ll be back in a few, okay?”

Louis nodded in acknowledgement and watched Harry rush out the bedroom door, leaving Louis with his thoughts. This had certainly been an interesting first day at their new residence. The prospect of moving to the beautiful apartment on High Street after just four months in this house seemed a lot less enticing now that he had met their neighbor. Despite being flung through the kitchen window and ending up bruised and with a sprained wrist.

\----

“What the fuck? _What the fuck?!?_ ”

The scream came from above where Niall and Louis were sprawled out on Niall’s bed.

“Sounds like Liam finally went up to his room,” Louis giggled. 

“You and Harry did an amazing job, Lou,” Niall admired. “Honestly, way better than the two of us would have done. You never said where you got that massive poster of the team mascot though. That is way too big to have fit in the box of goodies.”

“Harry brought it over when he ran home to get the wall friendly tape that was used to hang the flag about Liam’s bed.”

Niall sat up without warning and asked, “Where did Harry get it from? That thing is frightening.”

Louis shrugged. “He said his friend gave it to him as a joke and Harry felt bad at the idea of throwing it away, despite it being the ugly mascot.”

“Weird.”

“It made for good decoration material though so I didn’t question it. Maybe he was saving it for such an occasion as this.”

“What the fuck?” Liam exclaimed from Niall’s bedroom doorway.

“You need to broaden your horizons in choice of words, Liam,” Louis lazily pointed out. “That sentiment is getting overused.”

“What the fuck did you do?”

“At least he added three additional words to the statement,” Niall pointed out. “Or is that a question? Whatever. What’s up Liam?”

“What did you do?” Liam asked frantically. “What did I do to deserve that? Why would you do that to my room? I get that you’re currently between apartment leases but I think it would be best if you move out and live on the street for the next four months.”

“Whoa, Liam,” Louis said in a hushed tone from where he was still lying on the bed. “Calm down buddy. It’s okay. You’ll be okay.”

“I can’t unsee that!” Liam exclaimed as he threw his hands in the air in exasperation. “Where the fuck did you get all of that Michigan stuff? Seriously, I’m never going to be able to unsee that. I need to switch rooms. Or maybe Harry would be willing to switch rooms. A different apartment altogether might be better.”

Louis sat up at that comment. “I fully support that idea actually.”

Liam’s eyes widened as he asked, “Did he help you do that? I thought he was a good person. He’s always been so nice.”

“He is,” Louis stated. “I needed help because of my wrist and everything. So he offered. You can’t possibly blame me for asking.”

“Did you manage to have a make out session after you finished decorating?” Niall asked in curiosity.

Louis picked up a pillow and whacked Niall in the face. “No. It was strictly professional.”

“The fuck was that for?” Niall squawked as he rubbed his nose as if in pain. Which he wasn’t because Niall had the softest pillows ever.

“Can we get back to the point?” Liam huffed.

Niall and Louis glanced at each other. Which point were they currently supposed to be talking about? Having to live on the street? Louis finding his dream alpha? Niall’s soft pillows?

“My room!” Liam exclaimed. “Why is it covered in blue and yellow?”

“Actually it’s blue and maize if you want to get technical,” Louis clarified. “Just saying.”

“Oh my God,” Liam mumbled.

“Did you forget about your comment on the OSU and Michigan rivalry?” Niall asked. “Yesterday, remember?”

Liam stood unmoving and silent for several moments before speaking. “I was just… I was joking!”

Louis turned to address Niall. “Did it sound like he was joking? I wasn’t really getting a joking vibe.”

Niall shook his head. “I wasn’t getting any joking vibe either.”

“We weren’t getting a joking vibe,” Louis announced as he turned back to Liam. “Sorry if we missed it.”

“I was painting the kitchen scarlett while we were having that conversation. Obviously I’m loyal to our rivalry.”

“Actions speak louder than words though,” Niall stated.

Louis elbowed Niall in the side. “What Niall means to say is that words speak louder than actions.”

“Oh. Shit. Sorry. Yeah, what Louis said.”

Liam unexpectedly broke out into laughter, Niall and Louis quickly following suit. The whole situation was ridiculous and they all knew it.

Liam pointed an accusing finger between Niall and Louis. “The two of you better watch your back. I won’t throw you out on the street because, unlike you, I’m a nice person. But you’re on thin ice.”

“Yes, sir,” Niall responded, giving Liam a salute of honor. Or whatever his friend was aiming for.

“Seriously though,” Liam asked. “What are you going to do about my room? I can’t go back up there.”

“Don’t look at me,” Louis said, shaking his head defiantly. “I’ve spent enough time surrounded by Michigan gear to last me ten lifetimes. Plus I’m injured so I’m useless.”

The room dropped into silence as the trio looked at each other in thought.

“We could maybe invite our neighbors over for a welcoming party,” Louis suggested.

“But the only way to get in the door is if they agree to help take down the awesome decorations,” Niall chimed in.

“How kind of you,” Liam said blandly. “Like any of them would be willing to go up there.”

“Maybe we could play, like, strip poker,” Niall offered. “But instead of stripping, the loser has to take down a piece of decoration.”

“That’s not a bad idea,” Louis said in agreement.

Liam rolled his eyes. “That’s honestly the worst idea ever.”

Niall nudged Louis in the side and stage whispered, “He just knows he’ll lose.”

“Yep.”

“No,” Liam grumbled. “I’m going to text Zayn and see if they’re free.”

“Who else is there beside Harry?” Louis asked. 

“Harry, Zayn and Shawn,” Liam answered. “They’re all really cool. You’ll like them.”

“Well, Louis already likes Harry so that’s one down,” Niall announced as he got up and headed towards a box that Louis was fairly certain contained a pile of clothes. “Text away Liam. Get our new friends to come over and we’ll figure out a way to fix your room. Unless you make another offensive comment in regards to Michigan, in which case you’re not allowed to take the beautiful decorations down.”

“And I’ll never visit you in your room because of it,” Louis added as he rolled off of Niall’s bed to find a change of clothes for himself. Harry needed to see Louis dressed in something besides the ratty joggers they had met in. Preferably something that accentuated his bum.

“I’ll let you know if they’re coming,” Liam stated. “In the meantime I’m going to go spend some more time on the downstairs couch and try to forget about the ginormous poster of that mascot.”

“I think that went well,” Louis commented once Liam was out of earshot.

Niall snorted before doubling over in laughter. Louis needed to remember to have Harry send the pictures he had taken of their work. Just in case Liam needed to be blackmailed in the future. 

More importantly, he needed the selfie that Harry had suggested taking in front of that ugly as fuck mascot. The poster should be easy enough to photoshop out.

\----

Two days after they had moved in three things happened that had Louis questioning all of his life decisions up until that point. 

He woke with a start when he heard Niall’s scream from what sounded like the kitchen. Of course, despite being suddenly woken, Louis took his time in getting out of bed. They only had a week until classes started and he had to make the most of being lazy until then. 

“What’s going on?” Louis asked when he finally trudged down the stairs to find Niall sitting on the kitchen counter.

Niall merely pointed to a piece of sliced cheese lying on the middle of the floor. Which… okay? 

“Do you care to explain why you’re sitting on the counter staring at a piece of cheese?” Louis inquired. “Are you scared to pick it up? It does look a bit daunting now that I look a little closer. I never enjoy finding dirt on food items that I accidentally drop so I can see why you’re cowering in the corner.”

Niall shot Louis a harsh (ish) glare. “That was on the floor when I first came down here. I didn’t drop it. And Liam’s bread is gone too. I think we were robbed.”

“So naturally you had to scream and wake me up. Makes sense. It would also make sense that Liam might have dropped it. Or are you implying someone seriously broke in last night to make themselves a sandwich?”

“Why is there a piece of cheese on the floor?” Liam asked from the doorway. 

“Ha!” Niall exclaimed, pointing an accusatory finger at Louis. “It wasn’t Liam.”

“Niall thinks someone broke in to make a sandwich last night,” Louis explained.

“Is anything else missing?” Liam asked. “Did you check the rest of the house?”

“The concern seems to be focused on the missing cheese and bread,” Louis pointed out. “Nothing else seems to be of much consequence.” 

Liam rolled his eyes before turning around. “I’m going to check the rest of our belongings.”

Niall hopped off of the counter to follow Liam. Louis could only assume the cheese wasn’t as scary now that there were other people to protect Niall against it. 

The trio walked through the dining and living rooms, taking stock in the furniture and electronics that were still in place.

“That’s weird,” Liam noted when they finished their inspection. “Everything else is…”

“My bike,” Louis interrupted as they headed back into the kitchen. His bike that he kept on the basement landing was gone. Mother fucker. He had just bought it too. “My bike is gone.”

The group looked at each other in confusion. 

“So you’re telling me that someone broke into our house when we were sound asleep and stole Louis’ bike, Liam’s bread and my cheese?” Niall asked, sounding a bit dumbfounded. “Honestly, what kind of robber would do that?”

“Would you prefer that they took your Playstation and TV?” Liam inquired. 

Louis snorted. “It must be a Michigan fan.”

“Oh, my god,” Niall mumbled. “Give it up, Lou. You’ve gone insane with The Team Up North since you started that twitter feud.”

“Harry should still have that box,” Louis threatened. “Do you want us to decorate your room?”

Niall shrugged. “I’m just saying. You’ve never been so obsessed like this until the week of the rivalry game.”

“What can I say. Wolfieblue brings out my team spirit.”

“Did either of you check our cars?” Liam asked as he took a picture of the cheese before trashing it. “To see if they were broken into?”

Louis and Niall shook their head in unison. Food often took priority for Niall, and Louis hadn’t even thought that far in his sleepy state. 

Louis slipped on a pair of old Vans and followed Liam out the back door for car inspection. They weaved through the gravel lot and passed a few of their neighbors' cars when Louis stopped dead. Next to his own car was a blue Honda with Michigan plates. 

“What the fuck? What. The. Fuck.”

Liam turned back with a furrowed brow. “Is it your car? Shit, what was stolen?”

Louis pointed to the Michigan plates. “Who the fuck is from Michigan? Why is this car here?”

Liam shrugged. “I’ve seen it a couple times but look at the plates, Lou. They’re customized to support OSU.”

Louis took in the fact that the owner of the car had spent the money to have the letters “OSU ONE” engraved on them. But still.

“They probably only got customized plates so their car isn’t vandalized by OSU fans,” Louis stated. “They’re obviously a true Michigan fan if the person couldn’t bother switching to Ohio plates.”

“Niall’s right,” Liam said under his breath. “You’re becoming overly dramatic about our rival.”

‘I heard that,” Louis stated as he moved on to inspect his own car. He hadn’t thought to bring his keys but all of the windows were intact and since he had just recently cleaned it out there wouldn’t be anything worth stealing. Of course, he would never have considered cheese and bread being prime objects to steal either so he made a point to look closer later in the day.

“All good,” Liam noted as they headed back to the house. “We should probably have the police come out to file a report about the theft though. I’ll get on that.”

“Make sure Niall’s cheese is at the top of the list of items stolen.”

Liam laughed before replying, “Yes, of course. It’s certainly worth more than your bike.”

\----

**_@TBDOITL: A Michigan fan broke into our apartment and stole Niall’s cheese last night. Are they really that desperate for attention?_ **

Louis laid back on the couch as the group waited for the police to be dispatched to take their report. He should probably be more annoyed at his stolen bike but, to be fair, he had purchased it on a whim and it was the cheapest one in the store. He had also only used it twice in the year he had owned it. He would just be grateful their electronics were safe and the intruder hadn’t murdered them while they were sleeping. Good enough for him. 

Louis grabbed his phone when he heard a notification come in. The Michigan puppy was back. Much to Louis’ dismay he hadn’t responded to any of Louis’ tweets the past two days. Wolfie didn’t even have a response to Louis’ comment on a Michigan fan breaking his arm. (Naturally, there was no need for the blueberry wolf to know that it was only a small sprain.)

**_@wolfieblue: Replying to @TBDOITL: Was it really Gouda cheese? Maybe someone decided it was nacho cheese. Or Swiss cheese… because there are holes in your story._ **

Louis reread the tweet several times before tossing his phone at Niall. 

“Read that reply,” Louis instructed. “Tell me what you think?”

Niall took his time reading over the tweet before doubling over in laughter. 

“What is it?” Liam asked from where he was perched on his arm chair.

“Louis’ rival…” Niall wheezed. “His response…”

Louis scowled. “It’s really not that funny.”

“What did he say?” Liam inquired, furrowed brow in place. “What did you write that he replied to?”

Louis got up and handed his phone over to his friend who read over the offending tweet.

“He’s good,” Liam commented as he tossed the phone back to Louis. “He came up with those puns really quickly too.”

“Don’t sound so impressed,” Louis said blandly. “Don’t forget who we’re talking about.”

“My bad,” Liam amended. “Those cheese puns are horrible. How dare he respond in such a creative manner.”

“Why do we always refer to him as ‘he’?” Niall inquired out of nowhere. “Are we just assuming? Are cheese connoisseurs all male?”

“His pronouns used to be on his profile,” Louis explained, aptly ignoring Niall’s mention of wolfie’s cheese puns. “Of course it’s possible that he changed them, thus taking them down, but for now the blue puppy dog wolf dude is a he.”

“Wow,” Liam mumbled as the doorbell rang, signaling the arrival of the police. “You’re really losing it over this guy. I think you like him.”

Louis fish mouthed at the comment and resolved to have the pictures of Liam’s Michigan themed room printed out and wallpapered on every inch of Liam’s personal space.

\----

The police officers didn’t stay long. Just enough time to jot down a few notes to make an official report. The point of entry was still unknown but the group had settled on the intruder coming through the same window Louis had been thrown through two days prior. Louis could only hope that the person had ended up with a sprained wrist as well.

Liam was escorting the officers out when there came a knock on the kitchen door. Louis looked up to find Harry giving a small wave. 

“Fuck,” Louis mumbled, realizing he was still in his pajamas. They hadn’t been able to have the welcome to the neighborhood party the night of moving in, so for the second time in a row Louis was greeting Harry in joggers. 

“Are you going to answer the door?” Niall inquired from where he was searching through the refrigerator. “Make sure to note that Doctor Styles is a shit doctor. He’s done a horrible job of checking up on your wrist. Especially since we decided he was the one at fault.”

Louis rolled his eyes. “You decided that, Ni. Everyone else has blamed you. Own it. Besides, I already told you he was out of town so he checked in via text.”

Harry knocked again and Louis hurried to unlock the door to welcome his beautiful neighbor in. Even in a worn out Rolling Stone t-shirt he was majestic and prince-like.

“I saw the cop car,” Harry said, after greetings had been exchanged. “Is everything okay?”

“Someone stole my cheese,” Niall grumbled. “And Liam’s bread, thus preventing me from making a sandwich. Things definitely aren’t okay.”

Harry looked between Niall and Louis with wide eyes. “Your cheese? It was… the police… kitchen… I... what?”

Louis blinked in confusion. “Why do you seem more traumatized than we are, Harry?”

“Nothing,” Harry said, shaking his head quickly. “I mean, obviously it’s something since you were robbed. Are you all okay?”

“I’m cheese-less,” Niall noted. “But none of us were murdered by the intruder so I think we’re doing just fine. Well, Louis is still a little on edge about the car in our lot but besides that.”

“I’m not…” Louis began.

“What car?” Harry asked at the same time.

Louis shrugged as if those Michigan plates were no big deal. Which, they totally were but he’d save his commentary for @woflieblue. “There’s a car parked next to me with Michigan plates.”

Harry turned to look out the window to inspect the small lot of cars. “Which car is yours?”

“Unfortunately, the white one,” Louis stated.

“Unfortunately?” Harry asked as he returned his attention to the occupants of the kitchen.

Niall let out a soft snort. “Supposedly Louis feels like he’s driving around in a bathtub because the car is white. Which I think is silly, but it’s also why I super glued a rubber ducky onto his dashboard.”

“I still hate you for that,” Louis grumbled, as he turned to make a cup of coffee. Harry’s scent had Louis suddenly craving the beverage. Although it was possible Harry was the one Louis was craving.

“Can I get you anything?” Harry asked as he made his way towards Louis. “I should have cheese and bread at my place.”

“Maybe you can bring it as a housewarming gift,” Niall suggested. “We’re finally doing that tonight, right?”

“We are,” Harry acknowledged as he gently ran his fingers down Louis’ forearm. “How’s the wrist?”

“And that’s my cue,” Niall said to himself as he turned to leave the room. “See you later, Harry.”

Harry’s attention remained on Louis who suddenly felt as if he was about to pass out. 

“Shit,” Harry softly exclaimed, quickly wrapping one arm around Louis’ shoulders and the other around his waist as Louis was pulled tight into Harry’s warm chest. “You’re trembling, Louis. How can I help?”

Louis shook his head in denial. He was perfectly fine, thank you very much. Harry’s warmth was intoxicating though so Louis wrapped his own arms around the man’s waist, wincing slightly at the pressure Louis put on his wrist in the process.

“How can I help?” Harry whispered near Louis’ ear. “Should I get someone? Do you have, um, someone?”

From the way Harry asked the last question, Louis could tell he was trying to gain information on if he had an alpha. Louis shook his head slightly and squeezed Harry’s waist. Hopefully he would be able to translate Louis’ silent response.

“Louis, you’re trembling. I don’t think you’re as okay with the robbery situation as you thought. Or maybe you are and it’s something else. Either way, I need to help you. Maybe come sit down, yeah?”

Louis pulled back and Harry directed him to one of their mismatched kitchen chairs. 

“You look like you’ve seen a ghost,” Harry commented as he knelt down in front of Louis. 

Louis didn’t even try to be subtle in the way that he leaned in to take a deep breath of air. The scent of coffee and leather was everything Louis needed to clear his mind enough to respond. 

“I’m fine,” Louis finally advised. “Having the police officers here just reminded me of the time that I was robbed. No biggie.”

As expected, Harry gave him a disbelieving look. “Do you want to tell me about it? Would that maybe help?”

Louis shrugged. “It’s really not a big deal so there’s no point in dredging up the past.”

“How do you feel about ducks?” Harry asked. “Like, feeding ducks.”

Louis blinked in confusion at the sudden change of topic. 

“I’m thinking we can take a walk to the lake on campus and feed the ducks,” Harry continued. “Maybe it could help take your mind off of things and such.”

“Our thief stole our bread,” Louis pointed out. 

Harry let out the cutest giggle as he ran his hands up and down Louis’ thighs. “I have plenty next door. What do you think?”

Louis smiled, amazed at how Harry had suggested an activity Louis had wanted to do for two years. Niall had agreed to join Louis on several occasions but his friend never seemed to care about the activity so they had never made the time to go. And it just wasn’t as fun feeding ducks by oneself.

“Sounds good,” Louis stated. “I’m still in my pajamas though, can I have a few minutes to put actual clothes on?”

“You look perfect to me,” Harry said, with a small grin. “But if wearing something else will make you feel better, take all the time you need.”

“Meet you outside in 28 minutes?” 

Harry cocked his head to the side in question. “That’s an oddly specific time but sounds good.”

Louis shrugged, explaining, “It’s my favorite number.”

“I’ll remember that,” Harry said as he stood up. He gently ran his index finger along Louis’ fringe and Louis managed to suppress the shiver of pleasure at the simple touch.

“See you in 28 minutes,” Harry confirmed as he turned to head out the back door. Louis sat in place and watched him go, not moving even after the door had closed behind him. 

Louis jumped in surprise as Niall walked into the kitchen and announced, “I like him. I say go for it.”

“You don’t even know him,” Louis pointed out. “I barely even know him.”

“Did my ears deceive me? Because I thought I heard something about going to feed ducks. You’ve been wanting to do that for years. Pretty impressive that he suggested that for a first date.”

“First of all, it’s not a date,” Louis corrected. “Second of all, were you standing by the door eavesdropping during our entire conversation?”

“I wasn’t going to ruin your moment.”

“So, yes?” Louis prodded.

“I got distracted texting my mom about last night. If I happened to be right outside the kitchen doorway when she responded it was just a happy coincidence.”

“Oh, my god,” Louis mumbled as he got up. “Just admit you were eavesdropping.”

“I mean, I was already a fan of his when he helped do such a good job of decorating Liam’s room,” Niall said, completely disregarding Louis’ statement. “Of course, he lost points when he broke your wrist and then didn’t do an in person checkup. But as long as he keeps up the gentleman-like behavior he can stay.”

“It’s only a small sprain and he was out of town,” Louis defended, surprising even himself at how protective he felt towards their new neighbor.

“Mhmm,” Niall responded. “Anyway, you might want to get dressed. If you’re going to be so specific in the amount of time given to meet up, I’d recommend following through.”

“Shit,” Louis mumbled, not even bothering to acknowledge Niall as he rushed out of the room and up the stairs. Half of his clothes were still packed away and he had no idea what to wear to feed ducks with his dream alpha. 

\----

It was only about a fifteen minute walk to the small campus lake and Harry started the conversation as soon as they were out the door. Well, kind of a conversation. It seemed more like a job interview as Harry asked getting to know you questions without letting Louis get Harry’s response. They were incredibly generic questions like where Louis was from, what he was studying, his favorite food, etcetera, etcetera.

It was when they were stopped at a crosswalk that Harry seemed to realize what he was doing. He looked over to Louis with his lips clamped tight together. 

“I’m so sorry,” Harry finally said after nearly thirty seconds of silence. “I know I can ramble a lot, but I’m not usually like this. I’m not that alpha, I promise.”

“What alpha?” Louis asked as the crosswalk turned and they both headed across the street.

“The ones who feel like they can walk all over omegas. You know, not letting them talk or putting restrictions on letting them do things just because they’re an omega. We live in the twenty-first century and it shouldn’t be like that.”

Louis’ heart fluttered at Harry’s explanation. It may be the twenty-first century, but there were still plenty of alphas who refused to acknowledge a changing world. It’s why Louis found it so hard to be in a relationship. Somehow he always managed to end up with guys that seemed to want to treat their omega like an equal but, for whatever reason, it all changed after they shared a heat. Louis still couldn’t figure out what the fuck he did to cause the sudden switch but it was annoying as fuck. It wasn’t necessarily drastic in some cases but it was enough for Louis to want to end the relationship. At least the alphas he had been with were willing to let him go.

Of course, Harry could be one of those many alphas, but the fact that Harry explicitly recognized that alphas often did that was a step up. Maybe two steps up.

“It’s okay,” Louis finally responded. “It’s not like I’m not used...”

“You shouldn’t be used to it, Louis,” Harry cut in. He stopped walking and pulled Louis to the side. “I know a lot of alphas turn a lot more, um, alpha after heats and ruts. My mom told me about how alphas can do that before I even presented and I swore I would never let that happen.”

“Why does it happen?” Louis asked softly.

“I don’t know,” Harry responded truthfully. “I talked about it with my stepdad, who is an alpha, and the way we figured it out is that it’s an alpha’s way of rejecting an omega.”

Louis snorted. “Rejecting?”

“That’s definitely not the word I was going for,” Harry said with a light laugh. “Like, maybe if we, as an alpha turn more animalistic it means that the person we’re with isn’t our true mate or something.”

Louis took a moment to mull that over. It kind of made sense. But on the other hand, that meant there were a lot more alpha and omega mates in the world that might not belong together.

“I know, it’s kind of stupid,” Harry admitted. “We were just trying to come up with some explanation. Not an excuse, just to be clear. But something to explain why alphas became a little different after a heat or rut with their omega.”

Louis nodded. “It’s something to think about, that’s for sure.” He stepped back onto the sidewalk to continue their journey towards the lake before asking, “Why do you think you’re different than those other alphas?”

“I guess it’s something I was warned about and I want to make sure to never treat an omega badly.” Harry glanced over to Louis before continuing. “It also means I haven’t been in many long term relationships. If an omega wants me to help them with their heat and I feel or start to act differently afterwards I break it off.”

“Wow,” Louis mused. “Do you at least warn the omega beforehand? Like tell them that if you share a heat then there’s a chance the relationship might end?”

“Yes.”

Louis stopped walking. “Seriously?”

Harry halted his steps as well. “Why do you sound surprised?” 

“I... don’t know?”

Harry shrugged. “It’s good to set an expectation. Guys always seemed to appreciate my honesty.”

The pair dropped into silence as they continued to walk and Louis thought about what that could mean. What if Louis’ previous boyfriends had pointed out that their personality may shift a little after Louis’ heat? Would he have accepted their help? Or maybe Louis could have used a heat service to see how his current relationship progressed on its own. Maybe if he had waited longer to share a heat there would be a stronger bond that would overcome anything that might change after sharing a heat or rut. 

There were plenty of alpha and omega mates in the world that didn’t always seem to be the best fit but they still had a good relationship with each other. Maybe they had been a couple that had waited to go to the next level until they decided to bond or something. It was an interesting thought that Louis was definitely going to look into. Especially how a couple managed to wait to go to the next level before bonding. That would be impressive all on it’s own.

“What are you thinking about?” Harry asked, bumping shoulders with Louis.

Louis looked over to find Harry smiling down at him. “It’s just an interesting thought. It kind of makes sense, I guess. I’m going to have to evaluate my previous relationships. And be nosy with other people’s relationships as well.”

Harry giggled. “Good to know you’re nosy. I’ll keep that in mind. Now ask me some questions. It’s your turn to interrogate me.”

Louis tapped his finger against his chin as he ran through a series of potential questions. As the lake came into view the obvious question came to mind.

“Have you ever participated in the tradition of jumping into Mirror Lake during Michigan week?”

Louis looked over just in time to see Harry blanch. 

“I take that as a no?”

Harry shook his head violently. “No. Absolutely not.”

“But it’s tradition,” Louis unnecessarily pointed out. “That’s what this lake is for. Celebration of defeating The Team Up North.”

Harry threw his head back and released the most glorious laugh before responding. “This lake is not here for people to strip down to their underwear in the middle of November. I don’t understand why someone would want to willingly jump into freezing cold water like that.”

Louis scoffed. “You’re missing out on the fun, Harry. Because I can tell you, from experience, it’s a blast. Totally worth the cold I got a few days afterwards.”

“I bet it was,” Harry deadpanned.

“I’m going to make you jump in this season,” Louis announced. “I’ll even have chicken noodle soup and cold medication ready this year.”

“I hear the school might drain the lake during Michigan week.”

Louis gasped in horror. “No. They can’t do that. I’m starting a petition immediately.”

“If you want, I could just toss you in today to get it out of the way,” Harry suggested.

Lous playfully smacked Harry on the arm. “You wouldn’t.”

“Never say never.”

“I didn’t say never,” Louis stated. “You wouldn’t dare.”

“We’ll see...”

That was when Louis spotted them. Swimming around the lake was a group of ducklings following their mother around the pond.

“Oh, my god, H,” Louis exclaimed, grabbing onto Harry’s arm in his excitement. “Look at the teeny tiny ducks. Look at them. The cutest things in the entire world. Why haven’t I ever come to feed the ducks before? Holy shit, this is amazing.”

“You haven’t?” Harry inquired, sounding slightly baffled by the revelation. 

“I’ve always wanted to, but it just didn’t seem like it would be fun if I came on my own. Obviously I should have ignored that reasoning and come long ago.”

Harry opened the loaf of bread he had been carrying and handed a few slices over. “Well, I’m glad I asked then.”

Louis directed his smile down at the ground, softly responding, “Me too.” Looking back up he found Harry already watching him with an expression of fondness. 

“Thanks, Harry. I think I needed this.”

Harry smiled as he tossed a single piece of bread into the water, prompting two nearby ducks to swim like their life depended on it to see who could get the treat first.

Louis burst out in laughter as he watched the ducks squabble for the bread. “You could have just thrown a couple of pieces in at once, you know. That was mean.”

Harry giggled as Louis broke off a few pieces of bread and tossed them in the water simultaneously. Because Louis was kind like that and didn’t think it was fair for the ducks to think there was only a single piece of available food.

“Here they come,” Harry noted, pointing to a swarm of ducks quickly making their way from the other side of the lake. “You’d think the animals never got fed from the way they react to people with bread. They’re probably too fat to be able to fly at this point from the amount of food people give them.”

Louis watched on in joy as the mother of the ducklings led her family out of the way of the hungry adults. Naturally Louis made sure to get them some small pieces of bread. 

“We’re about to be attacked, Lou.”

Louis preened at the nickname before his attention was directed to the ducks climbing out of the water to get even closer to the food.

“Holy shit.”

“I brought a whole loaf,” Harry said, waving the bag for Louis to verify. “Maybe I should have brought two?”

“They’re obviously not shy,” Louis noted as one of the ducks came and stood directly in front of his feet “Honestly, has no one been around to feed them? Maybe we should do this more often to make sure they’re not starving or something.”

“We definitely should,” Harry agreed. “Maybe we could come even if we don’t bring bread. I love how this area is tucked away from the bustle of campus.” Harry paused for a moment before continuing a bit hesitantly. “You don’t have to, but if you ever want to talk about it I’m a good listener.”

Louis nodded as he tried to escape the ducks quickly surrounding him. He knew Harry was referring to his reaction earlier in the day.

“Maybe on the way home,” Louis acknowledged softly.

Harry didn’t let Louis dwell on the thought as the man tossed a few pieces of bread near Louis’ feet.

Louis shot Harry a glare before declaring, “And only if you stop throwing bread at my feet! Throw it in the water, Harry. Before one of these poor starving ducks starts to eat my shoes.”

Harry laughed and began to throw the bread away from Louis’ personal space and back in the water resulting in a cascade of splashes as the ducks jumped back into the lake.

They soon ran out of bread at which point Louis’ pulled out his phone and took a few pictures of the scene, making sure to get a few extra of the cute little adorable teeny tiny ducklings and their mom. 

“Should we head back?” Harry inquired after Louis had finished his photoshoot, having pulled Harry in to get a selfie as a bonus picture.

Louis bit his lip. He should probably do some unpacking before their party tonight but that would mean parting ways with Harry. It was then that Louis’ stomach rumbled, reminding him he hadn’t eaten yet today. He had completely forgotten with all of the activity due to their break in.

“I don’t know if you’re a healthy eater, but I could really go for some donuts right about now.”

Harry’s eyes lit up at the prospect which was a good sign. “I am a healthy eater but if they’re from Buckeye Donuts I’m in.”

Louis internally frowned at learning Harry was a healthy eater. Louis certainly didn’t mind eating healthy dishes, but he did try to avoid making them. 

His thought was interrupted by Harry’s light touch on the small of Louis’ back, leading the way out of the secluded campus area and towards the direction of the best donuts in the world. Not that Louis had tried all of the worldly donuts but Buckeye Donuts was a worthy opponent.

\----

Louis was munching on an Apple fritter as they were walking home when he felt the urge to tell Harry something he rarely shared. 

“I was robbed,” Louis said, breaking the comfortable silence between them. “During the short term gig of working at a convenience store.”

Harry choked on the bite of the glazed donut he had just put in his mouth, thankfully recovering before Louis had to start worrying about the alpha choking to death. Although death by way of the best donut in the world wasn’t a bad way to go. In Louis' opinion at least. Harry might think otherwise and Louis made a point to ask at a later date.

“What?” Harry finally croaked. “You what?”

“I was robbed,” Louis repeated. “Me and a coworker. It wasn’t a very fun experience and the cops showing up at our apartment this morning kind of reminded me of that time. I thought I was past it. I guess not.”

“Lou,” Harry said softly. “Are you okay? Do you want to talk about it?”

Louis shrugged as he tried to pretend it was no big deal. “It was pretty straight forward. Two guys came into the store wearing big puffer coats so you couldn’t see them. They came around the counter, put a gun to my back so I wouldn’t move and instructed my coworker to empty her register. They didn’t even want the money from my drawer and I got told off when I was going to open it for them. They took the money and left the store. The end.”

Harry stopped walking and stepped to the side of the sidewalk to let others pass, Louis following suit.

“I’m so sorry that happened to you,’ Harry said, a pained expression in place. 

Louis shrugged once more. “To be fair, that was the second time I was robbed while working there. The recount of the first time is a lot more complicated and I don’t really like to reminisce about how the cops showed up at my place at two in the morning because they wanted me to go identify the robber, who was stupid enough to rob a store in just a tank top and shorts. Like, did he not consider the fact that the place had security cameras to review which made him fairly easy to find? Anyway, I had to ride in a cop car so that was fun. And then spend about four hours at the police station for them to take my statement or whatever. So that was even more fun. And then had to go to court for the guy's trial. That was definitely the best part. The end.”

Once Louis was finished with his very abridged version of the event, he readied himself for questions. Because everyone always had questions. 

Just as Harry was opening his mouth to respond, Louis spotted a police car driving in their direction. The perfect ending to their afternoon. In that not perfect, absolutely horrible way.

Louis cringed as the car drove by them, remembering the time he had to ride in the back seat to be driven to identify the man who had threatened to end his life only hours before. The robbery had been two years ago and Louis really did think he had gotten over it. 

“Give me a cuddle,” Harry instructed as he gathered Louis into his strong arms.

Louis took a few deep breaths of Harry’s coffee and leather scent and resolved to not think about police for the remainder of the day. Which would likely prove to be impossible since their intruder was recent news but Louis wouldn’t let it affect him. Any interaction with cops was in the past and that was that. 

“You okay?” Harry asked, his breath fanning over Louis’ ear.

“You’re smashing my apple fritter,” Louis mumbled into Harry’s chest. “This isn’t okay.”

Harry burst out in laughter as he released Louis from his hold. “Sorry, I guess I was too impatient to have you in my arms to wait for you to move your own arm out of the way.”

“Mhmm,” Louis mumbled, quickly inspecting his food before taking a bite of the delicious pastry. “I’ll forgive you... this time.”

“How kind of you,” Harry said over a small giggle. He gestured towards their street before asking, “Shall we? I need plenty of time to get these crumbs off of my shirt before your housewarming party. Or welcome to the neighborhood party. Whatever it is.”

“Let’s call it a housewarming party,” Louis decided as the pair began to walk once more. “I think people are more prone to bring better gifts for those. Not that I’m implying that you need to bring a gift.”

“Of course you aren’t,” Harry responded, barely managing to hold in his laughter. 

Louis looked over to find Harry already watching him, a crooked smile and lovely dimple on display. The man was absolutely gorgeous and Louis wanted nothing more than to remain in his company. Forever if possible.

\----

“Are you making lasagna?” Louis inquired as he entered the kitchen to find Liam bustling around. “Why don’t we just be standard college students and order in pizza?”

“He’s trying to impress Zayn,” Niall stated from where he was sitting on the kitchen counter. “He won’t even let me help because he wants all of the credit.”

From the look Liam shot their roommate, Louis highly doubted that was the case. On the other hand Liam didn’t respond verbally. Maybe he did want to do the cooking to impress their neighbor. Louis looked at his watch to find that they still had nearly an hour until their guests were scheduled to arrive. 

“Can we text one of them to tell them to come early?” Louis inquired as he pulled out his phone. “Unpacking isn’t going well so they might as well join us. Maybe Zayn will appreciate watching Liam cook.”

It was then that Louis noticed he had missed a twitter notification.

**_@wolfieblue: Do people outside of Ohio know what a buckeye is? OSU’s mascot is a nut. Literally. So figuratively speaking, the fans are all nutjobs._ **

Louis glared at the tweet. Because what the fuck? Did the ugly blue wolf seriously just call Louis a nutjob? Not that the tweet called him out specifically but wolfie had just insulted, like, everyone.

"What's with the look?" Niall asked as he hopped off the counter. "Wait, let me guess. That's the look you get when wolfieblue tweets. What did..."

Niall’s words were cut off as the group's attention was directed to a large chunk of their kitchen ceiling peeling off and crashing onto the counter where Niall had just been sitting. 

“What the fuck?” Niall screeched. 

“Did a piece of the ceiling just fall?” Liam inquired calmly. “Or did I imagine that?”

Louis went to the counter and picked up a large piece of plaster that had, in fact, randomly fallen from the sky. Or ceiling in this case. 

“I could have fucking been brained to death,” Niall stated, flailing his arms about to emphasis his outrage.

“I don’t think it’s heavy enough to have killed you,” Louis pointed out. Waving the piece of plaster in his hand. He scanned the room for a comparison to the size of ceiling he was now holding in his hand. “It’s only the size of a cereal box. And a lot thinner. You would have been fine.”

“I don’t know why you’re comparing it to a box of cereal,” Niall replied. “But if you want to go there that’s the size of one of those really giant family sizes.”

Louis rolled his eyes at Niall’s exaggeration and easily broke the piece of plaster in half to display how light it was. 

“Fine,” Niall conceded. “I wouldn’t have died. But why the fuck did a piece of our ceiling decide to fall? What did we do to deserve that? First someone breaks in to steal my lunch and now death by ceiling?”

“It was your idea to move in here, remember?” Louis replied.

Liam turned around from where he was carefully laying out the layers of lasagna and crossed his arms in defense. “Maybe the two of you jinxed the apartment. Things were perfect before you moved in.”

Niall raised an eyebrow at Liam. “You lived here a week before we moved in. I don’t think that allows enough time to examine how wonderful all of the amenities are.”

Louis giggled. “Are ceilings an amenity? I always thought that was a standard feature of houses. Should we be looking into places without ceilings to save on rent?”

“I hate both of you,” Liam grumbled as he turned back to continue preparing dinner. 

“You love us,” Niall cooed. “Maybe it’s for the best. The house can fall apart while we live here so when your full time roommates get here in January you can give them The Tour and pretend it’s the perfect apartment.”

“Complete with ceilings,” Louis stated as he tossed the piece of plaster in the trash. “I’d recommend not pointing out that amenity though. Stick with selling how great it is to have a dishwasher.”

Liam shook his head in exasperation. “Shouldn’t the two of you be unpacking? You should get it out of the way before classes start.”

“Boring,” Niall drawled out. “Besides, we don’t have much stuff and plenty of time to get ready.”

“Agreed,” Louis stated. “Unpacking, buying books and catching up on sleep. Pretty simple lead up to when classes start.”

Liam glanced back with a puzzled look on his face. “I thought you had to write some sort of intro paper for one of your classes.”

“Wait,” Niall cut in. “You have homework to do before classes even start? Why the fuck did you choose to switch to an English degree if they give out assignments before the school year even begins? Bad move, Tommo.”

“I find it interesting,” Liam mused. “I’m curious how many people have actually checked their school email to see that they have to write something for the first day of class.”

Niall shook his head in disagreement. “The first day of class is supposed to be reserved for going through the syllabus in fifteen minutes and being released early as a reward for attending.”

Louis laughed at the disgusted look on Niall’s face. It was a fairly simple project though and shouldn’t take too long. 

Liam slid his carefully crafted pan of lasagna into the oven and took a seat at the kitchen table. “You’re also coming with me to the medical center right Lou?”

“Yep,” Louis agreed, attempting to sound upbeat about finding out who the alpha was that he would be paired up with for the semester. While he appreciated the university’s program of pairing alpha and omegas to share heats and ruts, he still hated the idea of being with someone that he didn’t know. 

“It’s for the best, Louis,” Liam stated, apparently reading Louis’ thoughts. “This way you know your alpha is a good fit and you already have someone ready to make heats a lot shorter.”

Louis rolled his eyes at Liam’s unnecessary explanation. “Thank you for telling me your solid reasoning that you give me every semester.”

Liam shrugged. “You had that look that you do every semester before we go to get our assigned partner so why not repeat myself as well?”

“I still don’t get that program,” Niall said as he slouched down on a chair. “Like, what if one of you gets a significant other a couple weeks into the school year? It seems a bit wrong to still have to remain in the program to help whoever you're paired up with.”

Louis and Liam glanced at each other before turning their attention to Niall.

“You can pull out whenever you want, Niall,” Louis informed. “It’s a well organized program and, being there are thousands of people at this school, it’s fairly easy to get someone else to be paired with.”

“Oh.”

“Yeah, oh,” Liam agreed. 

“Why are you both looking at me like I’m stupid?” Niall asked in defense. “It’s not like I take part in the program.”

“Betas are always welcome,” Louis said, wiggling his eyebrows. “Don’t be shy. Help an omega out.”

Niall cringed. “Thanks but no thanks. PlayStation anyone?”

Liam laughed at Niall’s quick change of topic and got up to head to the living room. A bit of PlayStation would help to pass the time until their neighbors arrived.

\----

“This is delicious,” Harry commented as the group ate their meal spread out in the living room, not having enough space for everyone at the dining room table. “Was this a group effort or did one of you do all of the cooking?”

“No, no,” Niall jumped in. “This was all Liam. He was quite adamant on doing all the cooking for our first neighborly meal.”

Louis looked over to find a blush creeping up the alpha’s cheeks. He shrugged and simply said, “I was in the mood to cook.”

“Well, I have to agree with Harry,” Zayn chimed in. “This is great. You’re obviously an excellent cook.”

Niall snickered at the comment and Louis watched as Liam’s face managed to blush even further. If Louis had any doubts that Liam’s cooking was for Zayn it was all but confirmed. Louis rarely saw Liam so affected by an omega before, let alone make a full home cooked meal, including brownies and ice cream for dessert. 

“So tell us about this morning,” Shawn prodded. “Harry just said you were robbed but wouldn’t tell us the full story.”

“I thought you would never ask!” Niall exclaimed as if it had been days since the event, as opposed to the half hour that the group had been together. 

Louis was fairly positive no one would bother recounting the visit from the police since it was a pretty boring detail compared to the rest of the story. As such, Louis jumped right in with the most important piece of the event.

“I think the robber was my twitter nemesis,” Louis announced. “The one that called all of us nutjobs today."

"What?" Niall asked in horror. "Wait, is that what you were glaring at before I was almost brained to death by the ceiling?"

"Your kitchen ceiling did what?" Shawn asked.

“What do you..." Zayn said at the same time.

“Shit!” Harry exclaimed through a mouth full of salad, cutting everyone off. “I forgot my other housewarming gift.”

The entire group looked over at Harry at the comment that had nothing to do with anything. Except for the fact that Harry had been holding out on bringing something besides a bottle of wine.

Harry set his plate to the side and got up, heading straight to the door.

“Is it a perishable item that needs immediate attention?” Liam asked. “We’ll still be here after dinner.”

“I was wondering when he was going to remember it,” Zayn said, giving Shawn a knowing look.

“Oh, that’s right,” Shawn replied, making Louis wonder if they were talking in secret roommate code.

“It’ll take, like, two seconds,” Harry advised. “Continue with the story about the break in and I’ll be right back.”

“Right,” Niall agreed as the door shut behind Harry. “Our robbery.”

Niall took over as narrator of the story. Flailing his arms about how upset he was for the missing food. Louis’ bike, on the other hand, barely even made it into the recount. While Niall rambled on, Louis realized he had forgotten to respond to the Michigan nutjob. Unfortunately, the ceiling incident had been too much of a distraction to come up with an immediate reply.

Niall’s recount of the morning’s events was almost complete by the time Harry was walking back in the door with a large bag. It was definitely more than the two seconds he had quoted and his food was surely cold at this point.

“I didn’t have time to properly wrap it,” Harry said regretfully as he handed the bag over to Louis.

“Is that an actual gift for your new neighbors?” Niall asked suspiciously. “Or for Louis specifically?”

Shawn giggled quietly, while Zayn explained. “I guess it would depend if Louis is willing to share.”

“So just Louis then,” Liam confirmed.

Harry sat down next to Louis and prompted. “Open it. Hopefully you’ll like it.”

Louis adamantly ignored all of the curious looks from everyone and kept his focus on Harry, excitement written all over his face.

No matter what was inside Louis appreciated the large Ohio State gift bag the item had been placed in. Good taste on Harry’s part. 

Louis placed the bag on the floor to make it easier to toss the tissue paper to the side and dig in to find the gift. 

“If you’re trying to impress him, I think you succeeded,” Liam said from across the room as Louis inspected the teddy bear he had pulled out of the bag. It was more of a fat round ball with tiny feet and hands than a teddy bear and Louis realized it resembled a buckeye. The logo for Ohio State was imprinted on the bear's tummy. It was fucking perfect.

“There’s more,” Harry prompted, nodding towards the bag.

“The different ways alphas try to impress omegas is astounding,” Niall commented. Louis shot him a look before handing the bear to Harry for safe keeping while Louis dug back into the bag. He pulled out a second fluffy buckeye themed bear. Nearly the exact same as the first, but about half the size. It was adorable and Louis loved it.

“Aww,” Niall cooed as Louis displayed the bear to the others in the room. “It’s like they’re a couple. An alpha and omega set. Louis being the smaller one, of course.”

Louis raised an inquiring eyebrow at Niall. “Of course?”

Liam snickered under his breath and if Louis didn’t love the fluffy object in his arms he would have pelted it at his friend. 

Louis opted to ignore Liam (for the moment) and turned his attention to the alpha next to him instead. His eyes were bright and his pheromones radiated pride. He had found the perfect gift and he knew it.

“Seriously though,” Shawn said. “Niall makes a good point. Are you going to share them? Because it does look as if they’re an alpha and omega set.”

“They’re Louis’ gift,” Harry stated. “It’s up to him.”

“Or maybe Liam is the bigger bear,” Zayn suggested. “Since you supposedly bought that as a housewarming gift and Liam is the alpha that lives here.”

“Yep,” Niall agreed. “Valid point. Hand it over, Lou.”

Louis glared at Niall as he took the bigger bear out of Harry’s hands and hugged both of them to his chest. As Louis held both in his arms the smell of coffee and leather became stronger. It was obvious that Harry had scented them before placing them in the gift bag. As the groups squabbled over technicalities of gift giving Louis dug his nose into the soft, fluffy fabric of the bear and inhaled deeply. 

Louis looked over to Harry, finding the man watching him with a small smile on his face. It was definitely pride Harry was exuding. And for good reason. 

“You like them?” Harry asked quietly, keeping the words between the two of them.

Louis nodded and smiled into the fur of the larger bear. “It’s perfect.”

Harry’s smile broadened as he reached over and ran his hand along Louis’ back. The touch was electrifying and Louis wanted to crawl into the alpha’s lap to know what it would feel like to have his whole body pressed against him. Louis had obviously been too distracted earlier in the day to truly appreciate the feel of Harry’s hugs.

Harry’s hand paused on Louis’ back and his smile unexpectedly dropped. Did Harry feel something different when he touched Louis? Something bad?

Harry moved his hand to cup the back of Louis’ neck, his frown deepening. “Are you scheduled to go into heat? You’re really warm, Lou.”

Louis shook his head. He certainly was not going into heat. And now that Liam had reminded him of everything that needed to get done before classes started he couldn’t afford to take the time off. Not to mention the fact that he hadn’t found out who the alpha was Louis was paired with to help.

The room quickly dropped into silence and all eyes were on Louis. Harry probably hadn’t meant to bring attention to them, but it was clear someone had heard. Probably Liam with his alpha hearing skills.

“Louis?” Liam questioned. Yep. It must have been Liam that overheard Harry’s inquiry.

“I’m not going into heat,” Louis assured, lowkey wondering if he was in denial. Or highkey wondering?

Louis dug his nose into the larger bear once more before standing up. He needed to get away from all of the staring to properly assess the situation.

Unsurprisingly, Liam was quick to follow Louis out of the room as he made his way to the kitchen to steal a brownie that Liam had not yet revealed to their guests.

“You better not be thinking of stealing a brownie,” Liam stated. “Those are for the guests.”

Louis scoffed. “There are plenty to go around. Besides, if I’m going into heat, which I’m not by the way, I should be able to enjoy a brownie beforehand.”

“That makes no sense.”

“Pretty please?” Louis asked in a sickeningly sweet voice. “With a cherry on top?”

“Fine,” Liam relented. “But only because I know it will keep you talking so we can figure out what’s up.”

Louis nodded as he set the coffee and leather smelling bears safely to the side as he went about finding a knife to cut into the delicious chocolate-y dessert.

“I can’t go into heat,” Louis stated matter of factly. As if that were enough to stop whatever the fuck might be happening. “I don’t do that. Well, with exception of that one time when I was… fuck.”

“What? When?” Liam prompted as Louis abandoned the brownies and grabbed the alpha sized buckeye bear for comfort.

“A couple years ago. After the first robbery at work.”

“Oh… shit.”

“I guess the cops this morning?” Louis wondered. “I didn’t really have a good reaction after they left. But I was totally fine within minutes.”

“Apparently not,” Liam noted. “Now what are we going to do about it?”

Louis rolled his eyes. “I’m going to wait until the last minute, lock myself in my room, and go through it myself. Simple enough.”

Liam gave him a disbelieving look. “I’ll call the medical center and see if they have someone available. You don’t have the time to go through it yourself. It lasts like two additional days and you come out of it tired and pissed off at the entire world for days. Which I don’t understand what you have against the entire world afterwards but to each their own I guess.”

“That is so not true,” Louis said with laughter in his voice. It was totally true. He even annoyed himself sometimes.

There was a soft clearing of someone’s throat from the kitchen doorway and Louis looked over to find Harry with his arms clasped behind his back. He looked nervous, which resulted in knots forming in Louis’ stomach.

“Has it been determined if you’re going into heat?” Harry asked quietly.

“We think the cops being here might have had a negative effect,” Liam explained. “Throwing him into heat.”

Harry nodded. “Makes sense. Unfortunately.”

Louis glanced over to find Liam with an eyebrow raised and Louis shook his head. He knew Liam was suggesting Harry help, but it wasn’t going to happen. Louis had never let Liam help to ensure their friendship didn’t change and he certainly wasn’t about to risk things getting weird with Harry.

The room was silent for a few moments and the trio looked between each other. Harry was the one that broke the silence when he asked, “Can I talk to you, Louis? For a second?”

Louis internally groaned but nodded in agreement.

“I’m going to hand out some brownies,” Liam announced, quickly grabbing a knife and the entire pan before heading out of the room.

Harry gestured towards the kitchen table and Louis took a seat, steeling himself for the moment he was going to have to deny Harry’s offer to help with his heat. Louis was actually going to have to say no to the most gorgeous alpha he had ever met.

On the other hand, maybe it was better to get Harry’s help now. That way he could know sooner, rather than later, how Harry might change. If he did at all. If nothing else, they could at least be friends and Louis wouldn’t have to waste his time pining after his dream alpha.

“I’m not going to reject you. My alpha to your omega, that is,” Harry said as he took Louis’ hand in his own. “I won’t. I know it.”

Louis lifted an eyebrow. “You can’t possibly know that.”

“Okay, you’re right,” Harry admitted. “But we’ve only spent, like, two days together Lou. We’re not in a relationship. It’s just me, helping you through your heat so you can be ready for the school year.”

Louis opened his mouth to respond but no words came out. Harry was right. Technically they barely knew each other. This wasn’t a big deal. Harry could help him with his heat and whatever happened, happened.

“I guess if you’re free,” Louis said with a shrug. “Would you be willing?”

Harry nodded his head eagerly. “Absolutely.”

Louis grinned and squeezed Harry's hand. “Good. Because I’m not sure I’d trust another alpha to take care of my wrist. I need a doctor.”

Harry giggled. “Doctor in training. I’m still a long way from being a doctor.”

“Close enough.”

“Did you get it worked out?” Niall chirped as he entered the room.

“You were eavesdropping again weren’t you?” Louis inquired. Or more like accused. Although was it an accusation if he was right?

“Just enough to know you won’t be a pain in the ass when you come out of heat,” Niall stated. “Well, _your_ ass might be in pain but that’s neither here nor there.”

“Niall!” Louis hissed.

Niall smirked as he grabbed a few plates from the cabinet. “Come get a brownie before we eat them all. You’re obviously not in heat yet so get one while you can.”

Louis kept hold of Harry’s hand as he stood up to follow Niall. He had no intention of sitting around when everyone knew he was unexpectedly going into heat, but he would definitely get a few brownies to go.

\----

"I should take suppressants," Louis groaned as he flopped onto his bed stomach first. "Why don't I just take suppressants? It would make things a lot easier."

"As a doctor in training," Harry started as he sat down on the edge of the bed. "I can say you're making the right choice for your body."

"I knowwww," Louis drawled out into his pillow. "Exactly what my mom says. But still. I wouldn't have to bother you or any other alpha to help me out during the school year."

"You go through them alone when you're not in school?" Harry inquired, curiosity lacing his tone.

Louis shuffled onto his side to get a better look at Harry. "When I'm single I do. I really do appreciate the college's alpha/omega program. I've never been paired with an alpha I don't feel comfortable with and I'm not sure I trust myself to find a random alpha on my own to help me."

"But you trust me?" Harry asked as he began to run his fingers along Louis' side. 

"I do."

"Why?"

"You're self aware of your alpha," Louis pointed out. "And you like to feed ducks."

Harry giggled. "I'm not sure enjoying feeding the ducks qualifies someone to make for a good match."

Louis gave a partial shrug. "You make me feel safe. Even after throwing me through a window."

"Oh my god," Harry said before bursting out in laughter. "I'm so sorry. I'm never going to live that down am I?"

Louis smirked. "Nope."

Harry's face fell serious and Louis frowned, unsure what could cause the shift.

"How do your heats work, Louis? We should probably discuss that. I can sense you getting closer."

"I mean, nothing out of the ordinary, I don't think," Louis explained. "Why? Do you need specifics? Just knot me occasionally and I'll be fine."

"I need to take care of your wrist," Harry stated. "I don't know what that might entail."

Louis furrowed his brow. 

"I just mean I don't want you hurting it," Harry continued. "Like, am I going to have to pin you down so you don't twist it or something?"

Louis felt his face flush at the idea of being pinned underneath Harry as he was knotted. That was fine by him.

"I trust you, H."

"That's the second time you've called me H," Harry commented with a small smile. "I like it."

"It's easier to say," Louis stated. "Harry is such a long and drawn out name."

Harry laughed as he squeezed Louis' side, but didn't say anything in response. 

"I think I need to be scented," Louis said, feeling his heat coming on quickly. Not only was his heat coming early, but it was as if things were moving in fast forward. He usually had time to prepare. Although it was always possible he just wanted Harry sooner rather than later.

"Sit up for a minute, babe," Harry instructed. "Shirt off."

"Gladly," Louis said, relieved to be taking layers of clothing off. 

Harry whipped his own shirt off before Louis had even sat up enough to maneuver out of his top.

"Arms up," Harry said, standing up to get a better angle of assistance. "Careful with your wrist."

Louis rolled his eyes. "I've been dressing and undressing myself for the past few days by myself, H. I've been managing just fine."

"Arms up," Harry said, deep in his throat. Louis was already getting hard, but fuck. The alpha's simple instruction had him straining against his pants in seconds. 

Louis took in Harry's naked torso as the alpha began to strip Louis of his clothes. Louis' imagination of how fit Harry was under his clothing seemed pale in comparison to the real thing. And that was really saying something. 

Louis hadn't even realized Harry had managed to strip Louis completely naked until he was told to lay back on the bed. Had Louis stood up to take his pants off? He didn't even know. However, he was fully aware that Harry wasn't quite naked yet. Not even close. 

"Naked, H," Louis whined. "I need my alpha naked."

Harry's eyes snapped up at the word alpha and Louis blinked in surprise. As far as Louis was aware he didn't say that word with the guys that were just around to help. Even if he did say it while in heat, none of the alphas had mentioned it afterwards. And Louis wasn't even in full heat yet. 

He'd have to think about that later because Harry still wasn't naked.

"Harry," Louis whined again. Making grabby hands towards the man that was currently about to topple over at the speed at which he was undressing. 

"I'm coming," Harry assured. "I'm here."

Louis sighed in relief as Harry climbed onto the bed, wasting no time in crawling over Louis' body. "I'm here, baby."

Louis' entire being relaxed as Harry ducked down and began to scent him. Louis rolled his head to the side to give the alpha better access.

"Do you let alphas kiss you?" Harry mumbled as he mouthed along Louis' neck. "The guys that are just here to help you through things?"

"No," Louis moaned as Harry nosed along Louis' jawline "It's just business."

"Okay," Harry replied softly as he gave a quick peck to the back of Louis' ear. "I won't."

He grappled with both hands at Harry's naked back in an attempt to pull him closer and Louis let out a small yelp when he put too much pressure on his wrist. The physical pain was lost on him as Harry's words echoed through Louis' fuzzy mind. Harry wouldn't kiss him? What the fuck? Why not?

Louis became completely disoriented as Harry shifted above him with no clear motive. He felt a strong hold on his left forearm as Harry pulled Louis' arm down and onto the bed. Louis was pinned. At least his left hand was.

"I'm here, Lou," Harry stated. "Relax and let me take care of you."

"Alpha," Louis whimpered. "Alpha, please."

Louis dug his free hand into Harry's curls and pulled him down. Their teeth clashed painfully as Louis brought their mouth's together. Harry needed to know this wasn't just a business deal. Did Harry think that? Was he completely disregarding Louis' fears about things changing between them. If this was just business that wouldn't have been a discussion. 

Louis yanked on Harry's hair which seemed to affect the alpha in a way Louis couldn't quite make sense of. It worked though, whatever it was, and Harry melted into the kiss. 

"Will you leave your left hand where it is?" Harry mumbled against his lips. "Where you won't hurt it."

Louis gave a minuscule nod of consent, not wanting to detach their lips to respond.

"Good omega," Harry whispered as he pulled back to look down at Louis. He preened at the praise, resolute on following through on Harry's request. 

Harry released the light, yet firm, hold he had been keeping on his forearm and started to trail kisses down Louis' torso. Maybe he should have been prepared for the logical conclusion of where Harry was headed but his brain short circuited as the warmth of Harry's mouth enveloped Louis' cock. 

It was only a few seconds before Harry was sliding a finger into his hole and Louis screamed out in pleasure, not giving a shit that Liam and Niall were somewhere in the house. 

"Please," Louis begged. "Harry. H. Harold. Hazza. H. Harryyyy."

The vibration of Harry's laughter over his cock had him needing to come on the spot. He wasn't exactly an endurance man when he was going into heat. In the back of his mind Louis knew he wasn't going to be fully aware of what was happening by the time Harry was knotting him. But deep down Louis had a feeling there would be other opportunities when his heat was over. 

Maybe Louis' slip of the tongue in calling Harry alpha wasn't really a mistake? 

Louis bucked up into Harry's mouth as the alpha slid another finger into him. Harry grabbed him by the hips and held him down as he continued to bob up and down on his cock. 

"Alpha!" Louis shouted in some sort of warning that he was about to come. Harry seemed to recognize it and he shoved his fingers deep into Louis' hole as Louis shot down Harry's throat. 

Louis sunk into the mattress as Harry made his way back up his body and attached their lips. Sedated from Harry's blowjob Louis smiled into the kiss. He couldn't remember the last time he had received such amazing treatment while he was in preheat. He supposed it made sense with alphas that were just there to help. Louis internally frowned as he concentrated on thinking. From what he could remember it seemed most of his boyfriends also found it unnecessary. What made Harry different?

"Sleep, baby," Harry instructed softly. Louis wiggled his bum, curious why he didn't feel empty like he usually did at this point. Harry must have slid a third finger in when he was in his blowjob high and all three remained snug inside him. Louis might actually be able to drift off in comfort for the first time in his life. How did Harry know how to take such good care of Louis? They barely knew each other and he seemed to know exactly what Louis needed. Did Harry help with a lot of omegas? Louis tried to wipe the second question out of his mind. He really didn't want to know.

"No, I don't. Only the few people I've been with. I'm not part of the school's alpha/omega service."

Louis internally frowned. Had he asked that question out loud?

"Rest, Louis," Harry whispered. "I'll be here when you need me. Or want me."

\----

It was a rare treat to wake up with an alpha wrapped around him after a heat. Most of the time the person was passed out on the other side of the bed. Louis couldn't blame them, of course. Alphas worked hard to help the omega they were with. 

Louis shuffled slightly in Harry's arms to signal he was awake, just in case the alpha was as well.

"Hey there," Harry whispered before planting a lingering kiss on the back of Louis' neck. "Don't move just yet."

"Time is it?" Louis croaked. "And why can't I move?"

Harry splayed his hand over Louis' tummy and pulled him tight against Harry's naked body. "My knot seems to really like being in you. Every single time these last two days it's taken, like, twice as long to be able to pull out without making sure I don't hurt you. It's weird. Enjoyable, but I have no idea why.

"Like you said," Louis giggled. "Maybe you really like being in me. Feels nice. I don't mind."

"Good," Harry said, giving another kiss to Louis' neck. 

They laid in silence, Harry brushing his thumb back and forth over Louis' stomach. The electricity of pleasure Louis had felt before his heat was still there. That was certainly a good sign. 

"I'm pulling out," Harry announced a few minutes later. "Then I'm going to make you breakfast. Or lunch. Whatever you want to consider it."

Louis gasped as Harry wiggled out from behind him and the emptiness that was left behind felt foreign. 

"You okay?" Harry asked. "Did I hurt you?"

"No," Louis said, rolling over to face the man he had called alpha several times. He looked worn out and tired, yet more radiant than ever. Louis wanted to say the word alpha again, just to see how Harry would respond but he refrained. They needed to figure out where their relationship stood. Or if they could have one.

Harry weaved his fingers through Louis' hair. "Wait here. I'll be back in a few minutes with some food. You need some protein."

Louis nodded and watched Harry climb out of bed. Nakedness was a good look on him. He definitely hadn't had time to really appreciate it before his heat. 

"I can practically feel you ogling me," Harry said as he pulled on a pair of boxers and t-shirt.

"I'm okay with that," Louis responded, reaching over to where his phone was sitting on the nightstand.

"So am I," Harry replied, leaning down for a quick kiss before heading towards the door. "Stay there. I'll bring you some food and we can get you cleaned up."

Louis nodded, slightly distracted when he saw a twitter notification from the blue puppy dog.

**_@wolfieblue: I’ve recently spent a few days in an apartment filled with Ohio State fans. I fear things may never be the same between me and @TBDOITL._ **

Louis frowned at the tweet. What the fuck did that mean? Wolfieblue had never addressed him a tweet before. Well, he had in his replies, of course. But not an initial tweet. And why had he been spending time with OSU fans? The very people he had just referred to as nutjobs.

The tweet was from the previous day so Louis replied with the first thing that came to mind.

**_@TBDOITL: Replying to @wolfieblue:You finally realized your team sucks? Welcome to reality._ **

As soon as he hit send Louis realized he should have waited until he was a little more awake to respond. That was a fairly lame reply for having been called out by the blue dog a day ago. Oh well. He'd come up with something later. Maybe conference with Niall first as to what wolfie might possibly mean by the tweet.

He ignored the WhatsApp notifications that were waiting for him and was about to toss his phone to the side when a tweet came through.

**_@wolfieblue: Replying to @TBDOITL: Sorry, Louis. You'll never succeed in converting me to the dark side. That's not what I was referring to._ **

"The fuck?" Louis screamed, dropping his phone on his face in shock. "Mother fucker ow! The fucker broke my nose."

Louis scrambled out of the bed. Or at least tried to. In his haste he managed to tangle his foot in the sheets and dropped to the floor in a pile of limbs, one foot still on the bed stuck in the fucking blankets.

"Niall!" Louis screamed. "Niall! Niall! Niall!"

"I'm not coming in there, Lou," Niall said calmly from the other side of the door. "You're probably naked and it will smell like days worth of sex. No thanks."

"Twitter, Niall! Check Twitter!"

"Harry's here with food. He even made bacon. Enjoy."

"Niall!” Louis tried once more as the door slowly opened, revealing Harry with a tray of food. Had Louis fallen back asleep? How did he make that so quickly?

"Holy shit, Lou," Harry exclaimed, setting the tray on the dresser and rushing to Louis' side. 

"Are you @wolfieblue?" Louis asked from where he was lying on the floor, attempting his best to remain calm. "Are you my Twitter nemesis?"

"Yes," Harry said softly. "I'm afraid so. Can I help you off of the floor? Please?"

"No. I don’t like you," Louis objected. He rolled his eyes at himself, his leg still at an awkward angle as it remained secure in the fucking sheets. "Okay, fine. Yes, please."

Harry managed to untangle his foot, keeping a light pressure on Louis’ chest to prevent him from sitting up.

Louis scowled. “I thought you were helping me up. Why are you holding me down?”

Harry lifted his hand from Louis’ chest and brushed his index finger along Louis’ jaw. “Because you need to be careful with that wrist. I had Liam buy you a stronger brace so it should be fine. It’s just a precaution. You really fought me on keeping that thing on.”

Harry pulled Louis up by his armpits and deposited him on the edge of the bed. Harry went about wrapping a blanket around Louis he inspected the new brace. Although from the size of the thing it was practically a full cast. 

“What was wrong with my other one?” Louis inquired as Harry handed Louis a plate of food. “Seemed to be working just fine.”

Harry bumped Louis on the shoulder. “Maybe now, but not when you were in heat. It was too easy for you to get it off. You wanted to be fully naked and I wouldn’t let you. Sorry, babe.”

Louis nodded and took a bite of the delicious food Harry had made him. He wasn’t sure what he should be saying. Obviously Harry deserved a big thank you. But. Harry was @wolfieblue. Louis’ nemesis. The bane of his existence. The diehard Michigan fan was sitting on Louis’ bed for fuck’s sake. The man had Wolverine cooties. And not the hot Hugh Jackman kind.

“You have a lot of questions,” Harry said, breaking the awkward silence. 

“You called me a nutjob,” Louis huffed. “Did you tweet that while you were buying those buckeye bears that you seemed so excited for? You can take them back if so.”

Harry chuckled. “I didn’t call you a nutjob, per se…”

“You did,” Louis cut in before shoving a fork full of egg into his mouth.

“I was merely making an observation,” Harry continued, waving his arms around in a nonsensical pattern. 

Louis glared at Harry who leaned over and gave a quick kiss to Louis’ cheek. Louis promptly scrubbed the cooties off with his napkin and Harry burst into laughter.

“You never responded to that tweet,” Harry observed. “I was kind of bummed.”

Louis glared harder. “How long did you know?”

“I knew for sure when you mentioned the car with the Michigan plates.”

“That’s yours?” Louis exclaimed, scooting farther away from the man next to him. “What the fuck?”

“I’m going to miss your reactions,” Harry said, laughing softly. “I’ve saved so many screenshots of your replies. I nearly had a heart attack when I realized who you were.”

“Mhmm,” Louis mumbled, not knowing how to respond. If he were honest, Louis was slightly disappointed that their anonymous banter was coming to an end. Not that Harry needed to know that.

Louis frowned, remembering Harry’s last tweet. Of course things were never going to be the same between the two of them, but then Harry had said it didn’t have to do with their school rivals. 

He ducked his head as he pushed the remaining bits of egg around on his plate. Harry, the actual person, was an absolutely amazing guy. Louis still stood by his reaction at seeing his neighbor for the first time. His dream alpha. If he took Harry’s horrible tweets out of the equation, Louis wanted him more than ever. 

But things had changed. Harry had helped Louis with his heat. And then posted that things would never be the same. Was that his alpha speaking? Or tweeting? Was Louis’ hope in being with Harry gone? Should he skip the pining phase? 

“Are you finished?” Harry asked softly, taking the empty plate out of Louis’ hand and setting it to the side. 

Louis nodded, unsure how to continue.

Harry wrapped an arm around Louis’ shoulders and pulled him into his chest. “I hope you can learn to like me enough to at least give us a try. Despite our team rivalry.”

“Why?” Louis asked, smiling into the fabric of Harry’s shirt. “Do you like me, H? Is that it? Do you like nutjobs?”

Harry giggled and kissed the top of Louis’ head. “I like this nutjob.”

“And what about, um, your alpha?” Louis asked, pulling back so he could look at Harry full on. “Did that change?”

Harry nodded, a bright crooked grin in place. “I can’t even describe it, Lou. I honestly can’t. I hope you can accept my dislike of all things Ohio State because this alpha isn’t going anywhere.”

Louis pulled out from under Harry’s arm and climbed onto his lap. 

“I can live with that,” Louis stated as he nipped the side of Harry’s neck. “At least until Michigan week. At which point we may have to reevaluate things.”

Harry let out the most undignified squawk Louis had ever heard causing him to go into a fit of laughter.

They had a lot to learn about each other, like why Harry chose to attend this university, but they had time. The Game wasn’t until the end of November and, as long as Harry supported Louis in upholding the tradition of jumping into Mirror Lake, they would be fine. Maybe even perfect.

**Author's Note:**

> Thank you so much for reading and I really hope you enjoyed it! I gladly welcome and appreciate kudos and nice comments!
> 
> Should you feel so inclined, I would love you lots if you reblog my [fic post](https://2tiedships2.tumblr.com/post/632294261420900352/welcome-to-the-rivalry-197k-by-2tiedships2)!


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